


Emily's Sick (And Ben Feels Terrible)

by Ellie226



Series: The Community [12]
Category: Original Work
Genre: Age Play, Daddy Kink, F/M, Medical Kink, Multi, Spanking
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-20
Updated: 2014-10-20
Packaged: 2018-02-21 21:00:53
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 14,749
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2482253
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ellie226/pseuds/Ellie226
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Emily has to go to the ER. Ben has to go on a play date. Matt feels badly for both of them.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Emily's Sick (And Ben Feels Terrible)

Matt’s POV

Emily was pale faced, with dark rings around her eyes, and she looked thoroughly miserable. Ben had caught the bug first, suffering through a few days of coughing and sniffles before he passed it off to my poor wife.

And as was Emily’s usual way, she’d taken things much, much farther. The poor baby had been camped out on the couch for close to a week, with Sarah diagnosing first a cold, which went into a secondary infection.

“Daddy?” she wheezed, forcing herself up. “Thirsty please?”

“I can get it,” Ben said, jumping up from where he’d been coloring. “You want tea?”

Em shook her head, “Ice water?”

“‘k,” Ben replied, hurrying off to the kitchen. 

I settled myself back on the couch, pulling Emily toward me so she could lean against my side. She needed to be partially up, but I could tell she was exhausted.

“Don’t feel good,” she said fretfully. “‘s’makin’ my Ben nervous.”

“He’ll be fine,” I soothed, rubbing her back. 

“I got it,” Ben interrupted us, bringing back the requested water and handing it over. “That feels better, Em’ly?”

Emily nodded, sagging against me, and I pressed my hand to her forehead. She was still running a fever, even though I was following Sarah’s instructions, and I was worried about her breathing.

“Sweetheart, can you get Daddy’s phone?” I asked Ben, smiling at him.

My sweet boy jumped back up, nodding fervently, “Uh huh, Daddy. Be right back,” he promised.

“My good Ben,” Emily mumbled. “You gon’ call Aunt Sarah ‘gain?”

I nodded, trying to remain nonchalant, “I just want to double check something,” I explained.

Emily turned enough to look at me, patting clumsily at my arm, “‘m okay, Daddy. I just need rest. Don’t worry.”

Apparently, my efforts to hide my concern were not working well enough for Emily. I was glad that Ben hadn’t picked up on it.

“We’re just going to call Aunt Sarah.”

Emily sighed, “‘s’just my asthma, Daddy. It’ll get better.”

Ben returned with my phone then, and our conversation was ended. Deciding that I needed a little bit of privacy, I stood up, motioning Ben over.

“Can you sit with Emily and keep her propped, sweetpea?” I asked, holding Emily up.

He nodded seriously at me, sitting down and helping Em to resettle, “We’ll be fine. I’ll tell Em’ly about my school, Daddy.”

“That’s my good boy,” I murmured, giving them both kisses before I left the room.

Emily’s POV

“Let me lay down,” I mumbled, squirming so I could rest my head in his lap.

Ben looked down at me, chewing on his lip, “Daddy said help you sit up.”

“‘m okay, my Ben,” I soothed, smiling tiredly. “Daddy went to talk to Aunt Sarah, but I think that he’s probably going to have to take me to see somebody while you get babysat.”

He looked very upset at that, and he began to argue, “I don’t need-you don’t need to go anyplace. We can take care of you here.”

“It’s okay,” I told him. “‘m just not breathin’ so good, and Aunt Sarah’s gon’ tell him to take me to get a treatment. It’s not a big deal, then Daddy and me come home. You should pack Owlie and some books or something.”

“He’s not going to take you anywhere,” Ben objected, sounding uncertain.

I wanted to explain again, but Daddy came in, looking more nervous. He needed to work on that; it riled my Ben up.

“Okay, baby. Aunt Sarah said that we should take you up to Urgent Care and have them do a quick chest x-ray to make sure it’s not going into pneumonia.”

“I’ll go get my shoes,” Ben tried, sliding out from underneath me.

Daddy shook his head, “No, Ben. I’m going to call Aunt Charlotte about bringing Lucy over and hanging out here with you. There’s no reason for us all to go out.”

“I don’t want Aunt Charlotte,” Ben objected.

I sighed. I didn’t like Frankie, but Ben did, and her papa was good with my Ben. I asked, “Can Ben go see Frankie and Mr. Mac?”

Daddy looked like he wanted to argue, but he instead asked Ben, “Mr. Mac or Aunt Charlotte, peanut?”

“I wanna go wif you and Em.”

“No, Ben. That’s not a choice. I’m going to call someone. Would you like me to try Mr. Mac or Aunt Charlotte first?”

Ben sighed heavily before saying, “Mr. Mac, please.”

“Alright,” Daddy replied. “I will try, but I don’t know if he can. If Mr. Mac says no, then you have to hang out with Aunt Charlotte.”

“Fine,” Ben whined.

That made Daddy do a double take, but Ben was saved from any sort of lecture, or even the need to apologize, by me starting to laugh. Which made me cough. So, Daddy had to help me sit and take a sip of water.

Ben watched us with wide eyes, and I could tell he was going to say sorry. He couldn’t get it out though because Daddy’s phone rang. 

Daddy walked out of the room, and I grinned at Ben, “‘m a bad influence,” I boasted.

“I didn’t mean it,” Ben insisted frantically. “I didn’t! I’ll ‘pologize.”

I grabbed his hand, pulling him to sit on the couch beside me. “Is okay, my Ben,” I assured. “Daddy’s used to me. A little bit of whining is nothing.”

“I need to say sorry.”

“Don’t worry,” I told him, patting clumsily. Matt reappeared, and I frowned at him, “Daddy, tell Ben it’s alright.”

“Everything’s fine,” Matt said hurriedly. “Ben, honey, I need you to get shoes and Owlie. Mr. Mac and Frankie are walking over. Throw some jammies in your backpack, and Em and I’ll pick you up once we finish at the doctor.”

“I gotta stay with ‘em a long time?” Ben asked worriedly.

I soothed, “Just ‘til I get back, my Ben. You don’t wanna come. It’s gonna be lots of waiting, and it’s boring.”

“I’m going to grab your kindle, baby. Do you want anything else?” Daddy asked.

“Can I change? I don’t wanna wear my jammies,” I explained.

“Ben,” Daddy said, pulling him up from where he was sitting, “Go on, sweetheart. Shoes and grab your jammies and Owlie.”

With a swat, Daddy sent Ben out of the room, before he started helping me to my feet, “I think jammies are a good plan, baby. If they need to keep you overnight-”

“No.”

“Emily,” Daddy said patiently, “only if the doctor says.”

“We’re not even going to the ER,” I argued. “Just urgent care. They can’t admit me there. They’ll just do an x-ray.”

“And possibly send us over to the ER,” he insisted. 

I could hear Ben’s slow feet on the stairs, and I knew he was unhappy. Glaring fiercely at Daddy, I said, “You don’t say that to my Ben. You’re going to upset him more.”

Matt’s POV

Emily looked like she was about to fall over, and I didn’t want to argue with her. “Yoga pants,” I offered, compromising.

“The black ones with pockets,” she nodded, sinking back down to the couch. “And my tee shirt from college. And I want a bra.”

“I get it,” Ben told me, starting back toward the door.

“Stay with Em, peanut,” I told him. “I’ll get some slippers too,” I kissed Em.

“Sneakers,” she insisted.

“Slippers,” I disagreed, leaving before she could mount her argument. 

In our bedroom, I grabbed the promised yoga pants, along with a tee shirt, bra, and a sweatshirt. Throwing her Kindle, wallet, and iPod in her bag, I picked up her unicorn slippers. I vacillated for a moment, before I packed a quick overnight bag. I’d throw it in the car once Ben left with Mac and Frankie.

I jogged back down the stairs, rejoining Ben and Emily in the playroom. They were cuddled on the couch together, and Em shot me a dirty look.

“Sneakers,” she argued.

I shook my head, “Emily Anne, this is not a discussion. You’re getting slippers, baby. Whether you put them on without a spanking is up to you.”

“You can’t spank Em’ly when she don’t feel good, Daddy,” Ben defended.

“If she’s feeling good enough to earn a punishment, I will certainly be handing it out,” I disagreed, pulling Ben to his feet. “Are you all set to go?”

As if on cue, the doorbell rang, and I pointed at Emily, “Stay there. I don’t want you tiring yourself out.”

“I need a hug from my Ben,” she whined, holding out her arms pathetically. Ben shrugged free, hugging Emily and kissing her.

“Love you, Em’ly,” he told her. “Be good for Daddy.”

My good boy; he always tried to be a peacekeeper. I took his hand, pointing at Em again, “I mean it, Emily Anne.”

She stuck her tongue out at me, but I ignored it, calmly leading Ben to the front door, where Frankie and Mac were waiting. With a small dog on a leash.

“That’s new,” I greeted, them, nodding. “Thanks for taking, Ben.”

“No problem,” Mac waved me off. “Frankie wanted to show off Bugs. You’re doing me a favor.”

I wasn’t sure how Ben felt about dogs, but I didn’t have time to worry. Sinking to his knees, he held out his hand slowly, letting the dog sniff.

“Hi, puppy,” he murmured. “That’s a good dog.”

“We were just about to take Bugs for a walk, if that’s alright?” Mac asked, directing the question at Ben instead of me.

Ben looked at me for a minute, and I raised my eyebrows, “Answer, Mr. Mac, peanut.”

Straightening up, Ben grabbed for my arm and motioned me down, whispering in my ear, “Is okay? You said jammies.”

“Yeah, peanut. Your pajamas will wait,” I reassured.

Frankie was watching the interaction closely, expression not giving anything away, and I spared a brief smile for her. She didn’t warm up.

“Sweetheart,” I said, “Bag? Did you leave it with Em?”

Eyes widening, he nodded, “Be right back, Daddy.”

“Frankie, why don’t you help,” Mac suggested, giving her a nudge forward and capturing the leash. “Bugs and I will wait.”

She did as he asked, following Ben into the house, and Mac shrugged at me, explaining, “Frankie insisted. I hope you don’t mind.”

He was the only other daddy I’d spoken to who said something like that and meant it. “It’s probably a good thing that Frankie and Em don’t want to be friends,” I joked. 

“Oh god,” Mac deadpanned, “World domination.”

“Em probably already has the plan ready.”

I could hear Ben coming back, and I hastily explained, “I think it’s just going to be a few hours, but if they decide to admit her, I’ll call. Once they settle her, I can come back and get him.”

“Don’t worry about it,” he replied. “The company’ll do Frankie good. Just worry about your other one.”

“Ready,” Ben announced, backpack on his shoulders.

Bending slightly, I kissed Ben and pulled him in for a hug, “Show them my good boy, okay, Ben? I’ll be back as soon as I can. Let Mr. Mac know if you need to talk to me, and you can call.”

“I’ll be okay,” Ben insisted, stepping out the door. “Take care of Em’ly.”

“Love you,” I replied, starting to wave.

He broke away from Frankie for a minute, darting back to me for a hug. “Love you too, Daddy.”

It was quick, and then he let go, returning to Frankie so they could begin their walk. I watched them for a moment before shutting the door and returning to Emily.

Emily’s POV

I sat on the couch, arms crossed over my chest, fuming. Ben and Frankie got to go on a walk. With a puppy. And I was stuck going to the stupid, fucking, not at all fair, Urgent Care. And I could tell from the way Matt was talking that it wasn’t going to just be Urgent Care. Even if the doctor didn’t think I needed the ER, Daddy was going to convince them.

My mood did not improve when Matt re-entered the room, carrying my overnight bag. 

“Absolutely not.”

“Not a discussion,” Matt told me. “Do you understand that, Emily? Because I’ve been playing by your rules and not insisting on this chest x-ray, and I should have. So we’re going to Urgent Care, and we’re going to the ER if they tell us to. And so help me, I will spank you in front of the doctor if you don’t just let them do their job.”

“I hate you,” I spat, furious. “You’re not fair.”

I watched my husband take a deep breath before responding with, “I love you. And you love me, even if you are very angry right now. And you’ve earned yourself a spanking when we get home because we do not talk to each other that way. But we don’t have time for it now, so put your damn slippers on so we can go.”

“Swear jar.”

This was not the right response. Daddy had instituted the swear jar after Ben started picking up some of my more unsavory language. He’d never liked it, but when Ben’s sweet little mouth started mimicking, free speech at our house was done.

Every word meant a dollar in the jar, and we didn’t even get to do anything good with it. Daddy used it to buy stuff that nobody wanted or needed. Like soap and cod liver oil and that new, awful, paddle. And stupid books for writing lines.

Which, okay, the paddle had not actually been used yet. But it was still there. And it was a stupid replacement for Daddy using the brush. Because my Ben didn’t like the brush, and it scared him.

“Up,” Daddy growled, and I found my legs working before I’d even realized it.

When all of my complaining and whining and arguing didn’t work, I went with the thing that used to make Daddy do what I wanted. I cried.

Matt’s POV

Steeling myself, I informed my crying wife, “You can safeword, or you can walk out to the car, but those are your only choices right now, Emily Anne. If you want me to be the daddy, that means that you need to let me make decisions to help you.”

She glared at me, crying even harder, and I shook my head, “Not working on me, Em. Not today. You need a chest x-ray.”

It didn’t get her moving, so I walked over to pick her up, juggling the bag and snagging her slippers from the couch. She lifted her hand up to smack me, and I used the slippers to swat her. They were fluffy, but it made her stop.

“Enough, Emily. I’m not kidding. Safeword or stop the tantrum.”

Slumping against my shoulder, Emily continued to sob, but she stopped actively fighting with me. It was good enough. I had her inhaler if it made her asthma worse, but I couldn’t very well order her to stop crying.

So I carried her out to the car and settled her in the front seat, buckling her in. The first five minutes of our drive was just Emily sobbing and me counting silently to myself.

Finally, she broke the not-silence, asking, “Don’t you even care that I’m upset?”

And then I did something that didn’t seem wholly appropriate, but I couldn’t seem to stop myself.

I laughed. 

“Stop laughing at me,” she shrieked, reaching out to hit my arm.

Pulling into a nearby parking lot, I parked the car and turned it off before turning to look at her, swallowing down the inappropriate giggles. 

Gripping her chin, I forced her to make eye contact, explaining, “I am very sorry that you’re unhappy right now, but you’re being ridiculous.”

“No I’m not,” she defended, the tears stopping.

“Yes you are,” I disagreed. “You know that you need the x-ray, baby.”

Chin wobbling, she mumbled, “They’re going to use needles.”

I didn’t believe in lying to Emily, so I nodded, “Maybe. But working yourself up like this isn’t going to help. You need the chest x-ray, and you probably need a breathing treatment.”

“I don’t like it,” she said softly.

I nodded, “I know. It sucks. Ready to be my big girl now?”

She hesitantly nodded, and I turned the car back on, starting toward Urgent Care. We made it two miles before she asked.

“‘m I really getting a spanking later?”

“Yes,” I replied. “You know better than to say stuff like that, Em. Words mean things, and they can hurt people’s feelings. It wasn’t okay. And I’m tacking on something extra with the paddle for hitting me. You know better, and I expect you to act like it.”

“Okay,” she whispered, sounding relieved.

I let one hand slide off the wheel, reaching out to gently pat her leg. I should have put my foot down about the chest x-ray before, and I hadn’t. I wasn’t going to let her keep digging herself deeper. Even if it made me feel like the worst daddy on earth when they weren’t feeling well, and I punished them.

Mac’s POV

Frankie was walking with Bugs a few feet in front of me, Ben at her side. Although they were together, they weren’t really talking.

I shouldn’t have been surprised. Frankie had been to daycare a few times now, mostly when she’d had a rough time with all the freedom of being by herself all day, and I wanted to know she was being supervised. According to the teachers, Frankie would answer questions when asked directly, but other than that, she sat quietly with Ben. They would read together, or do art, but they didn’t really talk.

Actually, according to Miss Maggie, it was “Kind of creepy,” because they didn’t talk, but they seemed to anticipate what the other one wanted. I hadn’t figured out how they were doing that yet, but I was hopeful that I’d seen some of it tonight. I didn’t put it past Frankie to convince Ben to do something just to weird out the staff at daycare.

Regardless of their purported telepathy, it was still an improvement over her lack of interactions with everyone else, although I was thinking that I needed to talk with Matt about social anxiety.

We made a wide loop around the community, ending at our home. Other than a few quiet words, nobody said anything, and I had to break the silence once we entered the front door.

“Okay, time for pajamas,” I instructed.

Frankie looked up from where she was unleashing Bugs, complaining, “Papa! It’s only, like, 7:00.”

Ben was waiting quietly, watching the interaction to see what the outcome was going to be, and I told him, “You can use the nursery to change, Ben. It’s upstairs, second door on the left. Okay?”

“Yes sir,” he replied, taking his bag and going toward the stairs. 

I waited until he disappeared to look back at Frankie, crossing my arms over my chest and raising an eyebrow as I asked, “Are you under the impression that having Ben here means that I’m no longer in charge?”

“No,” she replied, standing up and drawing herself up as tall as she could, “but it’s only 7:00. That’s not fair.”

“It’s 7:30,” I corrected calmly. “And I’m not saying that it’s time for bed, although you’re acting like it is. I’d like you in your pajamas because I want you and Ben winding down.”

“But-”

I cut her off, shaking my head, “You can do what I asked, or you can go sit in the naughty corner. I’m not interested in an argument.”

She glared at me, apparently weighing my words for a minute before she huffed, “Fine,” and started toward the stairs.

I snapped, pointing in front of myself, “We’re going to try that again.”

“No,” she insisted, sounding marginally less sure of herself than she had a moment before. She had stopped, but she hadn’t moved toward me.

“Yes,” I disagreed. “Now, Frankie. Having a friend over is not license to misbehave, and I don’t know where you got that idea from.”

Slowly, she dragged herself back over to me, not making eye contact, and I waited. Once she was standing before me, I took her arm and landed a sharp swat to her butt.

“Behave,” I ordered firmly. “I don’t like brat attacks, and I’m not going to put up with them. Now go change into your pajamas.”

Her free hand had flown to her backside, rubbing furiously at the sting, and she nodded at me before saying, “Yes, Papa.”

“Thank you,” I praised, kissing her, “that’s my good girl. Please don’t make Ben uncomfortable with your behavior.”

“Yes, Papa,” she agreed, before starting toward the stairs. She paused for a moment at the foot of them, adding, “I still think 7:00 is too early though.”

“Then it’s good that it’s 7:30.”

With a heavy sigh, she started up the stairs, and I went into the kitchen. I wasn’t sure if Ben had eaten dinner, but I figured that I should pull together some kind of snack. I hadn’t even thought to ask Matt what time he normally tried to get Ben to sleep. That seemed like the kind of thing that I should know.

I heard a soft shuffling behind me, and I turned to find Ben in the doorway, watching me quietly.

Smiling, I tried to sound more confident than I was when I asked, “Do you like popcorn?”

“Yes sir,” he answered quietly, not moving.

“Why don’t you sit, kiddo,” I suggested. He had changed into his pajamas like I asked, and he looked really nervous now.

He did as I suggested, and I returned to pulling out the stuff to make popcorn. After a minute, he asked, “Has Daddy texted you yet?”

“No, but I’m sure he will once he has a better idea of how long it’s going to be,” I reassured. 

He nodded, staring at the countertop, and I offered, “Do you want to call him? Emily’s got an iPhone, right? You could see about Facetiming them.”

“No thank you,” Ben mumbled. “Daddy’s busy with Em.”

Emily’s POV

Stupid Urgent Care. I hated it here. It smelled funny, and it was full of med school rejects. I was sure of it. 

“Mann? Emily Mann?” a voice called. 

I was going to ignore it, but Daddy helped me up, and led me over to the nurse, “We’re right here.”

We were led back to a bed, and the nurse took my temperature and blood pressure before promising that a doctor would be with us soon.

“You’re lucky I married you,” I lectured Daddy holding his hand. I was feeling very tired all the sudden, and I laid down on the bed and allowed Matt to cover me up.

“I tell myself that every day,” he smiled.

“No,” I rolled my eyes. “Emily Anne Mann? I should have run screaming as soon as I realized what my name would be.”

“Sorry,” he leaned forward to give me a kiss. “How’re you doing? Sounds like you’re not breathing so well.”

“I’m fine,” I tried to wave him off.

He caught my hands, squeezing them, “Just a quick chest x-ray,” he murmured.

That was when the doctor stepped in and made my night harder, “Mrs. Mann?” he asked, looking at me. When I nodded, he continued, “We need you to go over to the ER. Our x-ray tech is gone for the day, and we do need you to be looked at. We should probably call an ambulance.”

Before Matt could answer, I said, “No thank you. My husband can drive me.”

“Alright, but you need to go to the nearest ER. Your blood pressure is elevated as well, and you need to be monitored,” the doctor informed me.

“Thank you,” I nodded, climbing out of bed and grabbing Matt. “We’ll go right there.”

I didn’t wait for my husband to say anything else, taking him out to the car and climbing into the passenger side seat.

“No,” I told him, once the doors were shut.

“No what?” he asked, sounding thoroughly irritated. 

I glared at him, “No ambulance. We’re five minutes away. Just take me over there.”

Matt’s POV

Even so sick that she’d had to hold onto me as we walked to the car, she still sounded ridiculously fierce when she ordered me to do something.

“I’m not hearing your nice words,” I told her, reversing out of my parking spot and starting toward the nearby hospital.

“Please take me over there,” she said. “I don’t need an ambulance.”

I nodded at that, telling her firmly, “And the next time a doctor tells you something, you need to discuss your decision with me, young lady. I’m driving you over to the ER because-”

I stopped, not sure of what to say. I wasn’t sure why I wasn’t hauling her back inside the urgent care and requesting an ambulance. 

“Because we’re already there,” Emily explained, looking out the window.

She was right. It was less than a five minute ride, and I pulled into the parking lot with a final admonishment, “I’m not kidding. I’ll paddle your butt if you do something like that again, Emily Anne. And I don’t mean tonight. I mean ever.”

She nodded, not looking impressed, and I parked the car before fixing her with a glare, “Do you understand?”

That got another nod, and I shook my head at her, “Words, Emily Anne. I’m not impressed with your behavior tonight.”

“Yes, Daddy,” she allowed, before climbing out of the car and allowing herself to be escorted inside.

Once we completed the admission paperwork, I checked my phone, unhappy to realize that it was close to 9:00 already. 

Standing, I admonished Emily, “Stay here. I’m going to go and call Ben real quick.”

“I want to talk to Ben,” she insisted.

“Stay. Here.” I whisper ordered. “If they call your name, I’m just over there,” I pointed at the sliding doors.

She nodded, pouting, “Fine.”

“Thank you,” I gave her a kiss before stepping outside. Pulling out my phone, I dialed Mac.

“Hello?” he sounded out of breath.

“Mac?” I responded. “Is everything okay? How’s Ben doing?”

He laughed then, saying, “Ben’s fine. They’re having popcorn and watching Brave together.”

“He’s okay?” I asked, relieved. “Good. Because I think it might be a while.”

“Hold on,” Mac instructed, and I could hear him covering the speaker before he began speaking to someone for a minute. “Back. Sorry, Frankie was telling me that they want to stop watching the movie. How much longer? Ben asked if you’d texted.”

“Let me talk to him, please.”

“He’s fine, Matt,” Mac sounded patient. “He understood that you’re busy.”

“Did you tell him that?”

“No. I offered that he could call,” Mac explained.

“I’m not sure how much longer it’s going to be. They sent us to the ER because they couldn’t do the chest x-ray at urgent care. It’s going to be at least three or four hours.”

Mac seemed unperturbed when he responded, “We’ll be fine. I’ll put Ben down in the nursery. What time does he go to sleep?”

“Ten-ish,” I told Mac, feeling a bit better. “Bedtime isn’t a huge deal. He’ll start rubbing at his eyes when he gets sleepy, and he doesn’t typically fight it. I normally read to him, so he’ll probably want to read a few chapters to himself before lights out.”

“Alright. Should I plan on just keeping him overnight?”

I could tell that was a better plan, but the idea of leaving Ben anywhere for that long, without Emily or I, sounded terrible to me.

“No, I’ll call when we’re done,” I said. “Can I talk to him real quick? I just want to explain what’s going on.”

“Just a sec,” Mac responded.

After a moment, Ben got on the phone with me, “Hi, Daddy! Is Em’ly okay now?”

“No, peanut,” I said. “We had to go to the ER because they couldn’t do the chest x-ray at urgent care. Mr. Mac’s going to put you down for the night, but I’ll come get you as soon as I can. Okay?”

“Okay,” Ben replied, sounding noticeably sadder.

“Are you okay? Are you having a good time?” 

I could practically hear Ben’s shrug as he responded, “Frankie’s nice, and Mr. Mac made us popcorn with lots of butter. Way more butter than Em would let you put on it. We’re coloring.”

“That sounds like fun, sweetheart,” I told him, glancing at Emily. A nurse was standing in front of her, and I realized I needed to go. “Honey, the nurse is ready for us. I gotta go take care of Emily. You call me if you need me, okay? I’m not too busy with Em; if you need me, you can call.”

“‘k, Daddy,” he agreed.

“Daddy loves you, Ben,” I reminded, feeling awful.

He actually giggled at that, “I know,” he replied, reminding me of Emily. “Love you too. Give Em a good night kiss for me.”

“Okay,” I agreed. “Bye, sweetheart. See you in a bit.”

“Bye, Daddy,” he responded, before hanging up.

I felt badly, leaving him with Mac all night, but I tried to put that thought out of mind as I re-entered the lobby. Dealing with Emily was going to take my focus.

Mac’s POV

When Ben ended the call, he gave me a reproachful look, “You told Daddy I said he was busy.”

“Yeah,” I nodded, amused.

He shook his head, “You don’t tell Daddy that,” he explained patiently. “Makes him worried that ‘m feelin’ left out. He’s busy with Em ‘cause she needs him right now.”

“Sorry, kiddo, but I’m not in the business of keeping things from daddies,” I told him firmly. 

Ben seemed surprised by that response, and he put his little hands on his hips, shaking his head again, “No. You don’t tell my daddy when I say stuff like that.”

I’d never seen Ben misbehave before. Not really. I mean, when we had the Easter Egg Hunt, he swiped a little extra candy from his basket, after Matt told him he could only have one piece, and the first time we met, he had smacked Frankie. That had seemed like a misunderstanding though. Other than that, all I ever saw or even heard about was how well behaved Ben was.

The last thing I wanted to do was scare him, but I figured not making sure he understood where the boundaries were would do that just as well.

So, I raised an eyebrow, asking quietly, “Ben? Does your daddy let you talk to grown ups like that? Because when you come to play with Frankie, you don’t tell grown ups what to do.”

“Yes sir,” Ben’s gaze dropped, instantly submissive, and I reached out to gently pull him closer to me.

He stiffened, but he didn’t fight the hug as I murmured to him, “This must be really hard, being away from Emily and Daddy.”

Ben didn’t respond to that, although I could feel hot tears on my tee-shirt, and I continued, “Plus Emily doesn’t feel well, and that’s probably a little scary too.”

“I made her sick,” he said quietly.

That didn’t make any sense, and I pulled away, holding him at arm’s length so I could get a good look at him. For the first time that night, I realized how very pale and anxious he was looking, and I wasn’t sure if it was new or not.

“Emily has asthma,” I replied. “Unless you’re magic, I don’t think you gave her that.”

“No sir. But I was sick, and I gave it to her. Daddy and Em are real careful she doesn’t get sick,” he said quietly. “‘cept I get sick alla time. They didn’t know that.”

Dropping into a nearby chair, I pulled the little boy down onto my lap, rubbing his back like I would with Frankie.

‘You got sick, and she caught it. It’s not the end of the world,” I soothed.

The tears that had been dribbling down his face were joined by quiet little sobs, and I just sat there. He probably needed a good cry. He was barely better himself, and now he had to contend with Emily going to the ER, which would be scary enough without adding in his first playdate where Emily didn’t come.

Frankie poked her head in through the kitchen door, mouth opening to say something, but I shook my head firmly at her, gesturing for her to go and play. The last thing Ben needed to deal with was an audience.

Of course, Frankie would probably be better at dealing with Ben than I was. Even away from her old job, she was a social worker through and through, and we’d spent time talking about Ben, with her explaining things to me. Sometimes, I worried that she was only friends with him because she felt badly for him, but I figured that any reason was good enough, given how hard of a time she had making friends. And Ben was generally a sweet and well behaved little boy, easy to get along with. I’d much rather have Frankie attaching to him than to some of the other littles in the neighborhood.

Regardless of whether she’d be better at this, I didn’t want her handling it. We’d spent years establishing the way that we lived, and I didn’t want her feeling like she suddenly had to be big in our home so that she could take care of Ben. I could man up and handle this.

“Ben, I need you to be a big boy and tell me what we can do to make this less hard,” I said softly. “I know that it’s going to be difficult until Daddy gets here to pick you up, and you see that Emily is fine, but what can we do to make things bearable until then?”

He shrugged, and I gently pushed, “That’s not an answer, kiddo.”

“I want Daddy,” he wailed.

“I can’t do that,” I patiently explained. “We can sit together, if you’d like, or we can watch a movie, or we can try something else. I can’t get you your daddy right now.”

“I need my Emily,” he begged pathetically.

Frankie materialized at the door again, interrupting tentatively, “Papa?”

I really wanted her to go and do something with herself, but I responded, “Yes, baby? What do you need?”

“Could Ben try Face Timing Emily?” she suggested, walking over and gently touching Ben’s back. “You’d like that, right, Ben? Because then you could see Emily and see she’s okay.”

I wasn’t sure that they would answer, but Ben seemed to calm down at the idea, and that made me think it was worth a shot.

Matt’s POV

Emily and I were led back to a curtained off bed, where they handed her a gown and asked her to remove her tops.

“You need help, baby?” I offered. I knew she’d pulled a muscle with all of the coughing, and dressing hadn’t been the easiest. She’d actually been letting me wash her hair, which was an almost unheard of concession from my fiercely independent little girl.

She had sat down on the end of the bed, holding the gown in both hands, and she shook her head, “I don’t wanna be here,” she said, sounding frantic.

I could see the signs of a panic attack, and I sat down on the chair and pulled her into my lap, “I know. This sucks. Let’s get you checked out, and then I’ll take you home.”

“Let’s go home now,” she begged, already labored breathing getting worse.

I shook my head, hugging her tightly, “No, baby, we can’t. I’m going to help you into your gown. Nothing’s going to happen here. I’ll be with you the whole time, and I promise no surprises. Okay?”

“Promise no needles,” she insisted, raising her arms as I helped her pull the sweatshirt and tee shirt off. 

“No, baby,” I murmured, putting the gown on as well. “There might be needles, but I promise to hold your hand. You can even curse if you want.”

She sniffled miserably, hiding herself against me rather than climbing onto the bed, and I rubbed her back.

“I know,” I told her.

“Not fair,” she whined pathetically. “Ben didn’t have to come to the hospital.”

That was a first, and it took me a moment to come up with my response.

“Ben doesn’t have asthma,” I stupidly pointed out.

“I don’t wanna have asthma.”

She was being ridiculous, but I figured it was preferable to the panic we would otherwise be dealing with. Before I could change the subject, a nurse stuck her head around the curtain.

“Miss Mann?” she asked, stepping in.

Emily froze, not responding, and I nodded, “Right here.”

“Ma’am?”

Emily wouldn’t look at her, and I explained, “She hates needles.” Rubbing Em’s back, I murmured, “Baby.”

Turning slightly, she started to say something, but was cut off by another coughing fit. The nurse nodded grimly.

“Alright, so, we need to get blood pressure and temperature as well as heart rate, then we’ll figure out what tests we need to run. I’ll need you you up on the bed, Miss Mann.”

“Mrs.,” Emily corrected grouchily, allowing me to help her up. I was surprised. That was not typically something that would bother her. In fact, she generally decried it as a heteronormative and exclusionary way of categorizing women.

“Em,” I said, raising an eyebrow. I really didn’t want to get into it with a witness, especially one who was not necessarily going to be particularly open to our lifestyle. But I also wanted Emily to understand that she couldn’t be rude.

She had the good grace to blush, although she didn’t apologize, and she allowed the nurse to go through the initial steps of being checked out. The woman tapped figures into the iPad, before nodding.

“We’ll need to run an IV and get a blood panel.”

“Why?” Emily cried out, sounding more furious than nervous.

The nurse looked at her critically, sounding irritable as she explained, “You’re dehydrated, and we need to make sure that there’s nothing going on that we can’t see.”

“It’s just supposed to be a chest x-ray,” Emily protested.

“Is it really necessary?” I asked, feeling awful for Emily. It was more than just a dislike. Needles terrified Emily. I’d been relieved when Sarah started handling Em’s primary care, since she pretty much refused to acknowledge anyone’s request for bloodwork, simply avoiding it until doctors forgot. “We’ve got bottled water, and I’m sure my wife would be more than happy to drink that.”

“Yes,” the nurse said shortly. “Orderly’s going to come by and take you for your chest x-ray, but we’ll get the needles out of the way once you’re done.”

She left without further discussion, and Em practically leapt from the bed, desperately trying to get away. I caught her neatly, pulling her back into my lap.

“Let’s go home! Let’s just go home,” she babbled.

I shook my head, holding tightly, “Em. Calm down,” I said firmly. “You’re fine. Two pokes. That’s it. You can handle it.”

Picking the worst possible time, a man interrupted us, saying, “I need to take Miss Mann to get her chest x-ray.”

“No no no no no no no no,” Emily managed to gasp.

“Em, it’s fine,” I soothed. “The nurse said something about an IV and bloodwork. Is there any way we can just get that done first?”

“Afraid not,” the orderly shrugged.

“Can we have a minute?” I smiled tightly at the man, wishing that I’d insisted upon Urgent Care sooner. If I had, then we could have done the x-ray there.

The orderly shrugged at me again, stepping back out, and I grabbed Em by both arms, forcing her to make eye contact.

“This is not a big deal,” I said sternly, kicking myself. “Be my brave girl, and we’ll get it done and over with. Then, we’ll go home.”

“You said I might have to stay,” she gasped.

I nodded, hoping I wouldn’t regret the next thing I said, “We won’t, baby. Not unless the doctor absolutely insists. I’ll bring you home tonight, and you can sleep in your bed. Just gotta suck it up for a little bit more. Okay? Don’t think about the needles, baby.”

“I don’t want them,” she said, sounding dangerously near tears.

“I know, baby,” I murmured. “Come on. Chest x-ray’ll only take a few minutes. Let’s get it done.”

She was highly hesitant to go along with that, but I got her up and opened the curtain, smiling at the orderly, “Where to?”

He had a wheelchair, and he gestured to it, “Miss Mann? You can ride. Your husband can wait here.”

Em grabbed my hand in a painfully tight grip, shaking her head fervently, and I pleasantly informed the man, “I’m going to go along with her.”

We didn’t get an argument, so I settled Em in the wheelchair and walked along beside her, talking in an effort to get her mind off the needles. I knew that was going to be ugly.

Ben’s POV

Mr. Mac led me into the playroom, settling me into a comfortable chair and handing me the iPad that was stationed nearby. 

“Do you know how to use that?” he asked kindly.

I nodded, sniffling still, and he handed me a tissue, “Blow,” he ordered. 

Doing as he asked, I crumpled up the used tissue and stuffed it in my pocket, “I can facetime Em?” I asked him.

“Yes you may,” he replied. “I don’t know if they’ll answer, sweetheart, but it’s worth a shot, hmmm?”

Slowly, I dragged my finger across the screen, smiling when I found the facetime icon. Em had an iPad, and she let me play with it sometimes. Tapping her number in, I waited until I saw Daddy’s face.

“Daddy!”

“Hey, peanut,” he smiled at me. “What’re you doing?”

“I wanted-” I stopped, unsure if this had been a good idea. Daddy looked so tired, and he had to worry about Emily. “I just wanted to say good night,” I finished lamely.

“Ben,” Mr. Mac chastised, giving me the look. Emily swore that they had secret meetings learning how to do that look.

“Is Em okay?” I asked, shamefaced.

“Yeah, peanut, she’s fine,” Daddy told me. “You want to talk to her for a minute?”

He handed the phone over without waiting for an answer. Em looked miserable, face tearstained, and I gently traced my finger around its outline.

“You still feel awful?” I asked her.

She nodded, sniffling a little, “They’re gonna make me have a stupid IV,” she said quietly. 

“Nu uh,” I shook my head. Emily hated needles. I knew that. Daddy practically had to pin her down so Aunt Sarah could give her a flu shot, and she still got cookies afterward even though it was probably the worst tantrum I’d ever seen her have. “Daddy won’t let ‘em. You just need an x-ray. He said.”

“Yes he will,” she insisted pathetically.

Before we could talk anymore, the phone was moving again, and I was looking at Daddy’s face.

“Ben, honey, Em’s feeling a little overwhelmed right now,” he told me. “Everything’s going to be fine. They need to run an IV to help rehydrate her, and they think they’ll do a nebulizer treatment before they let us come home. Are you being good for Mr. Mac?”

“He’s an angel,” Mr. Mac said, loudly enough that Daddy could hear.

“That’s my Ben,” Daddy commented, smiling at me. “It’s going to be a couple hours, sweetheart. It’ll take at least two to run the IV fluid into her. As soon as we’re done though, we’ll come get you. Will you lay down and try to sleep for Mr. Mac please?”

“Yes Daddy,” I nodded. I shouldn’t have called. He didn’t need to be worrying about me when Emily was miserable. “Can I say bye to Em please, Daddy?”

“Okay, peanut. Love you,” he ended the conversation, passing me back to Emily.

I smiled at her, “It’s just going to be fast,” I tried to soothe. “It’s okay. I bet Daddy’ll let you have ice cream or something too. And we can do whatever you want tomorrow. I’ll play LEGOs with you all day, if you want. Promise.”

“I don’t want to,” she said, sounding frantic. “I don’t. I just wanna come home.”

I watched as she shifted a bit, then Daddy was behind her on the bed, hugging her and smiling at me, “Ben, honey, we have to go. I’ll come and pick you up just as soon as I can. Try to sleep, peanut.”

“Love you,” I mumbled, watching as the call ended and I could only see myself. I watched as my eyes welled up again, and I angrily slapped the tears away. I shouldn’t be crying. Poor Emily was in the hospital, and I was feeling sorry for myself?

“Whoa,” Mr. Mac’s voice interrupted my thoughts, as he easily lifted the iPad from my grasp and then grabbed both my arms. “That’s enough of that, thank you. I don’t think your daddy lets you hit yourself.”

“She hates needles,” I whispered. 

“Yeah, I kind of figured,” he responded, sitting on the floor and tugging me down from the chair. He hadn’t let go of my wrists yet, and he kept a firm grip for several more minutes, as though he were making sure I wasn’t going to hit myself again.

“What do you think about sitting and reading together?” he offered. “Did you pack a book? Sometimes Frankie and I read together when she’s having a hard time.”

I shook my head, “I didn’t know I was gonna be here so long,” I explained quietly, hastening to add, “I like it here a lot. I like playing with Frankie, and I appreciate you having me. I just figured I’d be home with my Emily.”

“It’s okay, kiddo,” he patted my leg. “I understand that you’d rather be at home. Maybe once Emily’s feeling better, you and your daddy and her could come over for a playdate. That would probably be easier on you.”

Standing, he pulled me to my feet and gently nudged me to a nearby bookcase suggesting, “Why don’t you find something that looks decent. Do you want something to drink?”

I shrugged. Daddy and Em made hot chocolate when someone was having a bad day. Emily even made marshmallows sometimes, when she wasn’t too upset and worried.

“I’m going to go and see what we have,” he informed me, not mentioning the shrug. Daddy would have been all over it because he, ‘doesn’t speak in shrug, Benjamin.’

“The good read aloud stuff is on the bottom two,” a voice interrupted me, and I turned to look at Frankie in the doorway. When I didn’t move, she stepped forward, dropping to her knees, “See? We’ve got Paddington and Pooh and Anne and Sarah Crewe.”

She sounded like they were all friends, like I didn’t need a title so much as to hear who the characters were. Joining her on the floor, I stared stupidly at the huge number of books. They had almost as many as we did, and Daddy and Emily had already had a huge collection before they started adding to it for me.

Frankie’s POV

Ben looked overwhelmed, and I quickly scanned the shelves, trying to decide between several options. Sliding my copy of A Bear Called Paddington from it’s place (between The House at Pooh Corner and More About Paddington), handing it off.

“You’ll like it,” I told him authoritatively. I knew I did. It was just funny enough to keep your interest without being so complicated that you really needed to pay that much attention. 

Taking Ben’s hand, I led him back to the kitchen, where Mac was surveying the wine rack with a critical eye.

“Ben? Do you drink wine?” he asked absently.

Ben’s eyes widened, and he shook his head, “No, sir.”

“Papa,” I said, glaring at Mac. He wasn’t thinking.

“Hmm?” he turned to look at me, blanching at my expression. “How about some tea?” he suggested next.

“Yes thank you,” I replied, pulling Ben into the livingroom.

Papa called after us, “Ben? Tea? Or would you rather have juice?”

I looked at Ben, waiting for an answer, and he shrugged, “You want juice?” I asked quietly. Normally, when he did that, it meant he didnt want to be trouble. If he’d wanted tea, he would have just said yes.

“He wants juice, Papa,” I hollered.

Mac joined us a few moments later, carrying a sippy cup for Ben and a mug of herbal tea for me. “Be right back,” he said, going back for his own wine.

Bugs had jumped up on the couch with us. Papa didn’t like that, but Ben’s eyes lit up, so I figured it was probably okay just this once.

“Good girl,” I crooned, rubbing her silky ears.

“You’re lucky,” Ben said quietly. “I never had a pet.”

“You could get a puppy,” I suggested. “They had lots at the shelter.”

He shook his head, “Em’s ‘llergic, and it makes her asthma bad.”

“There are dogs that don’t make allergies bad though,” I told him. “My brother is allergic to everything, and we still had dogs.”

“What kinda dogs?” Ben asked, perking up a little bit.

“Ummmm, poodles?” I suggested. “And whatever the Obamas have because one of them is allergic. And some little white dog. I don’t remember its name, but my friends have one. He’s ridiculous because he’s super tiny, but he acts like a big dog.”

“Daddy’s got too much to worry about anyway,” Ben shrugged. 

I shook my head, “I take care of Bugs. Mostly. Papa walks her with me at night because we talk then usually. But she’s my responsibility. We agreed. I bet your daddy would let you get a puppy, if you wanted one.”

Ben didn’t respond, and I stood up, “You wait here,” I ordered, going to the kitchen and retrieving my iPad from where Papa had left it on the counter.

“What’re you doing with that, Frankie Beth?” Papa asked. He had a glass of wine in his hand, and he was about to join us.

I was not supposed to use my iPad or my laptop when Papa was at home, unless I got permission first because I spent so much time on them when Papa was working.

“I wanted to show Ben the website with Bugaboo?” I explained, smiling winningly. “Just a couple minutes, Papa. I’m trying to distract him.”

Mac nodded, “Do you want a few minutes with just him?” he suggested.

“Thank you,” I went on my toes to kiss his cheek. “He’s overwhelmed.”

“I wanted to wash up from our snack anyway,” Papa nodded. “Five minutes seem like enough time to you, bird?”

“Thank you,” I said again, kissing him once more before I took the iPad out to the living room and joined Ben on the couch. Pulling up the Internet, I flipped through the website and hit search.

Two dogs in, Ben was hooked, wholly focused at looking at the available pets. He was even smiling a little.

“It would be fun,” he admitted, looking at the photos.

Mission accomplished. Ben was distracted, and he wasn’t thinking about Emily or the hospital. That was good.

Emily’s POV

I felt rotten. I was tired, and my body hurt. My skin ached and so did my bones. I just wanted to go home and sleep for about a million years.

Matt had crawled into the bed behind me, and he was hugging/holding me, a move I was too familiar with. It would look like he was just soothing me, if anyone walked in, but I knew well enough that I couldn’t get away when he had me like this.

“It’s okay,” he murmured in my ear. “You’re being such a good girl.”

“I wanna go home,” I whimpered. Everything hurt, and I didn’t have it in me to pretend to be big right now. “Please,” I begged. “Please, Daddy. I’ll take my medicine. I won’t even argue about the cough syrup.”

“Shhh shhh,” he crooned, hugging me. “We’ll get you fixed up, Em.”

The nurse came in before I could mount my next argument, carrying a tray with needles on it, and I recoiled.

“We need to do bloodwork and run an IV,” she explained firmly, sitting down on a stool and rolling up to the bed. “Mrs. Mann, I need your arm, please.”

“Nooooooo,” I whined, trying to curl up against Daddy. 

Matt grasped my right arm, straightening it out, “It’s going to be real quick. Less than ten seconds. I bet she’s really good at it too.”

I tried to stay calm, but I could feel my breath quickening. Between my lungs already sucking, and the needles that were coming, I couldn’t handle it.

“Please just do it,” Matt ordered harshly. “Em, you can breathe. Stop panicking. You can control this.”

He held my arm for the nurse to draw blood. It might not have seemed like it, but I was trying to calm down. I didn’t want to act like a baby in front of strangers. In spite of my best efforts, I couldn’t help but cry. I only got louder when she finished the second vial and asked for my other arm.

“Noooooooo,” I begged him. 

The nurse got up, moving to the other side of the bed and preparing the IV, “Mrs. Mann, if you really don’t want me to do this, I need you to tell me now, please.”

“She’s terrified. Just run the damn IV,” Matt growled at her, keeping me tightly against him. He forced me to extend my left arm.

Murmuring in my ear, he soothed, “I know you’re scared, baby, so I’m going to help. Understand? I need you to tell me if that’s not okay.”

I wasn’t going to safeword over an IV. Daddy wouldn’t have forced me if I had, but I knew he was right. I just hated them. I hated needles, and I heard IVs were worse. I squirmed enough to hide my face against Daddy’s chest, shaking my head.

I felt her feeling for a vein, and then sliding the needle in. It hurt, and unlike having blood drawn, I could still feel it. Matt wouldn’t let me look until they’d taped everything in place.

“See?” he whispered. “All done. Good job, Em. You did it, and we’re all done.”

“We’re just giving her fluids,” the nurse explained, hooking the IV bag to a stand. “We’ve got an oral steroid as well as an inhaled steroid that the pulmonologist will be bringing in for you in a minute.”

“Thank you,” Matt told her.

I wasn’t thanking her. I didn’t care if it was rude. I wasn’t going to be thanking anybody for poking holes in me, and I doubted Daddy was going to force the issue right now.

Once she left my bed, Daddy loosened his arms slightly, “Baby? You want me in the chair now, or do you need me here.”

“Stay,” I asked quietly. 

He nodded, shifting slightly so that I could recline a bit more, and grabbing a nearby remote, “Let’s see what’s on,” he suggested.

“Walking Dead,” I told him raspily. “There’s a marathon, remember? You said we couldn’t watch it, but you really just meant Ben. And I won’t tell.”

He laughed a little at that, “I really meant both of you, but I suppose that I can bend the rules a little, since you were so good for that IV.”

Changing the channel, he got us set up with an episode before the pulmonologist came in, wheeling a cart with her. I tried to ignore her, but she kept talking.

“It’s an inhaled treatment,” she explained, “and I’ve got the oral meds as well.”

I nodded hurriedly, tipping back the cup and sucking down some water along with it. This wasn’t my first time, and I knew the drill. I’d do at least one nebulizer treatment along with the steroids. Maybe two. And I’d leave with a few prescriptions. I just wanted to watch my zombies and pretend I didn’t have a painful and creepy IV in my arm.

Mac’s POV

When I joined the two of them in the living room, I found them sitting close together, heads bent over the iPad. Like with the walk, they weren’t talking much.

“What are you two up to?” I asked, sitting down on the couch beside Frankie and pulling her up onto my lap. 

Ben looked down at his hands, but Frankie answered confidently, “I was showing Ben the website where we picked out Bugs.”

The small dog was cuddled up against Ben, and he was focused on petting her, not looking at me. I wasn’t sure if Frankie had just started something, but I figured there was nothing I could do about it now.

“Shall we read?” I suggested, taking the book Frankie had left on the coffee table. “Baby? Do you want your bink?”

“Papa!’ Frankie said, sounding horrified. A moment too late, I realized that she probably wouldn’t want Ben to know about that.

“Sorry,” I apologized quickly, giving her a hug. 

She didn’t want to be soothed, opting to slide off of my lap, “I’m going to get Ben’s owl,” she announced, stalking out of the room.

Ben watched her, eyes wide, before glancing at me and quickly looking away. I slowly reached out, gently petting Bugs.

“It’s okay, Ben,” I told him, having no idea what the problem was. “We’ll start reading when she gets back.”

He nodded, “Okay.”

Frankie returned several minutes later, looking as though she still hadn’t entirely forgiven me. Handing the stuffed owl over to Ben, she settled back down next to him, clearly not planning on allowing me to cuddle with her.

“I’m ready,” she announced.

I felt badly about mentioning her blanket in front of Ben, but she was being rude, and I knew that Ben had trouble with stuff like that. Matt said he seemed to panic whenever Emily did something wrong.

“Excuse me?” I prompted, hoping that would be the end of it. 

“I’m ready,” she snotted. “You can read now.”

I nodded at that, standing up and taking her hands, “Ben, honey, we’ll be right back, okay? Can you sit here and take care of Bugs for us? Frankie and I need to have a chat.”

Frankie struggled for a second, but I simply pulled her closer, murmuring, “Francesca Elizabeth, don’t think I won’t swat you in front of Ben.” 

That made her stop attempting to pull away from me. She followed me into the kitchen, pout firmly on her face, and I lifted her up, settling her onto the counter and giving her a severe look.

“Do you need to go to bed?” I asked her. “Because if you’re feeling cranky, that can be arranged.”

“You embarrassed me,” she hissed. 

I nodded, “I know, and I’m sorry. I wasn’t thinking. But that’s no excuse for this behavior. This is your last warning tonight, little miss. One more problem, and I’m putting your little butt in bed, after I spank it. Understand?”

She still looked pretty angry, but she managed to respond, “Yes sir.”

I nodded, “Alright then. We’re going to go back into the living room, and I’m going to see you using your manners, little girl.”

Hopping down from the counter, she nodded angrily, stalking back to the living room and settling next to Ben. Looking at me, she gritted out, “We’re ready to hear the story now, please, Papa.”

That was good enough, and I sat down beside her, opening the book and reading several chapters aloud. After Mr. Brown won his art competition, I shut the book.

“Alright, it’s time for you two to be in bed,” I announced, standing up. Frankie gave me a look, but I patiently held out my hand. “Come on.”

With a sigh, she stood, going up the stairs. I suggested, “Ben, why don’t you get your bag. Did your daddy have you pack a toothbrush?”

“No sir,” Ben said quietly.

“Okay,” I gently nudged him toward the stairs. “We’ve got extras. Frankie,” I called, waiting until she poked her head out of the master bedroom. “Can you grab a toothbrush for Ben, please.”

She did as I asked, still upset with me, and I hustled Ben into the hall bathroom, watching as he brushed.

“You go ahead and finish up, kiddo,” I instructed. “I’m going to check on Frankie, and then I’ll tuck you in. Is the nursery okay?”

“Yes sir,” he told me. “Is where I sleeped when I first got to Daddy’s house, and I had to sleep in there when Em got sick.”

He sounded very matter of fact about something I figured would enrage Frankie, and I ruffled his curls, telling him, “That’s a good boy.” It sounded inane, but I wasn’t really sure what to say.

Leaving him in the bathroom, I went to check on my wife, who glared at me in the mirror, “I’m not talking to you,” she announced. It would have been very dignified if not for the toothpaste smeared around her mouth.

I wasn’t going to fight with her, and so I said, “That’s fine. Please finish getting ready for bed so I can tuck you in.”

Her eyes narrowed at that. I rarely ‘tucked her in,’ electing to go to bed at the same time that she did. But my Frankie was acting like she thought she was a grown up, and I wasn’t at all convinced that an early night by herself was a bad thing for her at the moment.

“Hurry up,” I instructed, settling on the edge of the bath tub and watching her.

“Please go away.”

I knew how Frankie was. She could hold a grudge, when she wanted, and this was unlikely to go away without me intervening. 

“Brush your teeth,” I tried one last time.

She spit out her toothpaste, rinsing quickly before turning to me, “You are not staying in here while I wash my face and pee. Get out.”

If she’d simply washed her face, I would have left. Frankie was private, and I didn’t like to push her. However, I wasn’t going to be spoken to that way, and I had no doubt that at least some of this was testing to see if I would punish her after already embarrassing her.

Taking her hand, I pulled her face down over my lap. She had been so mad at me that it took her a minute to realize what was happening, but she began struggling fiercely when her pants went south.

“No!” she told me. “No! Papa! You already embarrassed me! I’m not bein’ that rude.”

The fact that she knew exactly why I had her in this position made me even more certain she needed it. And she never argued more than when she knew she deserved it.

“Yes,” I contradicted her. “You’re being incredibly rude, and I have been more than patient, little girl. I don’t like the behavior I’m seeing, and it stops.”

Bringing my hand down sharply, I was quick and efficient. I didn’t want to leave Ben alone for too long, especially since I wasn’t sure how well he could hear the punishment. Once I had Frankie red bottomed and crying, I stood her back up and pointed at the corner.

“You can stand there until I come back,” I ordered, not offering a hug. “I need to go and take care of Ben.”

She hesitated, and I turned her enough to swat her firmly once more, “Don’t test me, Francesca. I will get your hairbrush next.”

That took care of any remaining resistance, and she hurried to the corner, leaving me free to check on Ben.

I found the little boy already in the nursery, sitting on the side of the crib, hugging his owl tightly.

“Hey,” I greeted, walking over and tugging down the covers. “You ready to sleep? Everything okay?”

“‘s’fine,” he replied, looking around the room. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

He looked up at me, saying, “You spanked Frankie.”

“I did,” I agreed, helping him to scoot in and lay down. “She was rude, and I don’t like that.”

“Daddy said have nice manners,” he informed me sleepily, thumb going into his mouth. “He says it makes him happy when we’re p’lite.”

“He must be very happy with you,” I smiled, brushing hair away from his forehead after I fixed the covers around him. 

Curling onto his side, Ben nodded, slurring, “‘m a good boy. Daddy and Em says.”

He was white faced with exhaustion, and I remembered that he was only just better from his own bout with whatever Emily had. Flicking on a nearby nightlight, I told him, “You call if you need me, buddy. I won’t go to sleep for a while. Night.”

“Night night, Mr. Mac.”

Leaving him, I returned to my bathroom, not looking forward to dealing with my naughty wife. I was relieved to see her still in the corner and unsurprised by the tear tracks down her face when I called her to me.

Sitting back on the side of the tub, I took both of her hands in my own, lecturing quietly, “I don’t like it when you’re rude, Frankie. It’s not nice. I don’t act like that with you.”

“No sir,” she said quietly.

“I understand that having Ben here is a change,” I told her. “And it was last minute. But Papa gave you several warnings, didn’t he?”

“Yes sir.”

“Alright then,” I pulled her into a hug, rubbing her back. “I’m sorry I embarrassed you. It was an accident. I’ll try to be more careful in the future.”

“Thank you.”

Still hugging her, I instructed, “I want you to finish getting ready for bed and then come out, please. I’ll be waiting to tuck you in.”

That got a nod, and I left her in peace in the bathroom, going out to sit in a chair and wait for her. When she came into the bedroom, I swiftly tucked her in.

“Good night,” I kissed her. “I love you.”

“Love you too, Papa.”

She was quiet now, obviously feeling badly about her behavior. It wasn’t the worst thing, and I’d normally leave her to her guilt. It seemed like a good deterrent. However, I knew how hard of a time she had being around other people, and I had embarrassed her.

Sitting on the side of the bed, I tapped her nose with a fingertip. “Spanking and time out are over, and it’s all done, bird.”

She nodded, sniffling a little, “I was really naughty in front of Ben.”

“You weren’t that bad,” I disagreed. “You just kept pushing. And I spanked you. And it’s done with.”

“Love you,” she said quietly, reaching under her pillow and pulling out her bink. She wrapped the satin in her fist and stuck her thumb in her mouth, and I left her with a final kiss.

I wanted to climb into bed with her and cuddle her, but I had left my phone downstairs. Hopefully, I’d get a call from Matt soon. As sweet as Ben was, the little boy wanted to go home.

Matt’s POV

Emily was exhausted, even moreso than she’d been before. I could tell, from the way she was weaving back and forth. The pulmonologist had brought one of the face masks, slipping it over Em’s mouth, and my wife was reclining in the bed, watching Walking Dead, breathing in the cool mist. The IV was about ⅔ of the way through, and she seemed to mostly be ignoring it.

“Baby? You want something to drink?” I offered. I was thirsty, and I could really use some coffee.

Em nodded, tiredly pulling the mask away from her face, “I want juice, Daddy,” she whined. “An’ ‘m hungry too.”

That was good. She hadn’t been eager to eat lately. With a nod, I moved off of the bed, kissing her, “I’m going to run to the cafeteria and get you some juice and something to eat. What sounds good?”

“Don’t care,” Em mumbled. “Salty?”

“Salty hot? Do you want me to see if they have soup or something?”

“Maybe hot? I don’t know, Daddy,” Em whined at me. “Just food. ‘m hungry.”

“Okay,” I murmured, dropping another kiss on her forehead. “I’ll be back in ten minutes, baby.”

She went back to watching her show, and I hustled out of the room. There was probably another 20 minutes on her IV, but I wanted to make sure I got back before they came in and upset her anymore.

The hospital was the usual maze, and it took me a minute to figure out where I was going. I was relieved to see that the cafeteria was still open. The coffee looked about as appetizing as I had expected, but I grabbed myself a cup before finding a bottle of cranberry juice for Em. After perusing my options, I settled for ordering her a grilled cheese and tomato soup.

I was back in the promised ten minutes, happy to see that Emily was still in bed and nobody was talking with her. Settling the styrofoam container on the rolling table, I pushed it in front of Em.

“There you go, baby,” I cracked open the juice, handing that to her. “Try that for me, Em. You need to get some food in you.”

She smiled a little at me. Someone must have come by while I was gone; the nebulizer had disappeared, and Em seemed a little happier. She actually made it through ¾ of the soup and then half of her sandwich before flagging, relaxing back against the bed and nudging the table away.

“Full,” she explained. “You hungry, Daddy?”

“No,” I smiled, scooting the chair a little closer. “Thank you for asking though. Was it okay?”

She shrugged at that, “Not as good as home.”

I made a mental note to tempt her appetite tomorrow with more grilled cheese and tomato soup. I had no doubt that homemade was better, since we used actual cheese, and I knew I had some soup frozen from this summer. It had to be better for her too.

“‘s’better with the cheddar,” she explained, smiling at me and sipping her juice.

I nodded, “Yeah. We’ll have to make some soon, huh?”

“‘k,” she responded, eyes drifting back to the television.

We watched it together for a little while longer, until finally, a PA came in, holding an iPad and talking without looking at either of us.

“So, we’ll need to keep Ms. Mann here overnight,” she explained. “We can get her admitted-”

I didn’t like this woman. I understood that the ER was busy, but I figured she could maybe take 30 seconds to look at us while she explained that we needed admission.

“Why?” I interrupted. “Was her chest x-ray bad?”

She shook her head, “No, it was clear, but we’d still like to admit her.”

Emily was tense, and I kept a firm grip on her hand, making sure I sounded pleasant as I stated, “I heard you. I’d like an explanation as to why she needs to be admitted rather than going home. Do you need to keep her on the IV?”

“No,” the PA admitted. “It’s just a precaution.”

“So that you can?” I prompted, forcing down my irritation.

“Just for monitoring,” the woman responded, sounding as irritated as I felt.

“So to wake her up and check her temperature every few hours?” I clarified.

The PA nodded, “And her blood pressure. Make sure that her breathing is okay.”

Poor Em was holding onto my hand so tightly that it felt like she was going to squeeze my fingers clean off, and I gave her a quick squeeze back.

“No thank you,” I told the PA firmly.

“Excuse me?” she spluttered. “I don’t think you understand, your wife is sick. She needs medical attention.”

I shook my head, “She’s got bronchitis and the flu. You aren’t going to do anything here that I can’t do at home, and she’ll be much more comfortable there.”

“Sir, it’s really not your decision.”

“No,” I conceded, “but since you can’t explain what you’re going to do to help her more here, except wake her up every two hours and make her sleep in an uncomfortable bed, I don’t see why it would be beneficial for her to stay.”

“I don’t want to,” Emily piped up.

“Ma’am, it’s really a good idea,” the woman tried one last time.

Emily shook her head, “No thank you. I’d like to be discharged now, please.”

“You realize it’s against medical advice?”

Emily nodded at that, “Yes, and I’d like my discharge paperwork.”

The PA left then, fairly shaking with rage, and Emily let out a small whoop of excitement, followed by another fit of coughing.

Once she had managed to stop, she grinned at me, “Thank you,” she told me, pulling me in for a hug. 

“You’re welcome,” I squeezed her back. “They can’t do anything for you here that I can’t do at home, and Aunt Sarah’s right next door if we need her, huh?”

“Best Daddy in the world,” she whispered in my ear.

That got a laugh, as I warned, “Just remember that the next time I tell you something you don’t want to hear.”

She shook her head, finally letting go, “So long as we can pick up my Ben, and I can sleep in my bed, I’m thinking you’re at least in the running.”

“Text Mr. Mac and tell him,” I suggested, handing over the phone. “Let him know that it’ll probably be about 30 minutes, okay?”

Emily nodded, taking my phone and concentrating intently on the message. It was nice to know that I’d have two happy littles with me, at least for the time being.

Emily’s POV

We made it all the way out to the car before I remembered, and the high I felt from getting to tell the hospital I wasn’t staying faded.

“Daddy?” I mumbled, settled in the passenger seat. “You didn’t really mean it when you said I was goin’ to get a spankin’, right?”

Matt didn’t start the car, turning to give me his full attention, “Yes I did, Emily Anne, and I’m pretty sure we discussed this earlier.”

“But we can forget about it? Because I’m really sorry about being disrespectful and mean earlier,” I attempted.

“You’re getting a spanking,” he said firmly.

“Just this one time, you could forget it?” I suggested. “Because I’m your baby, and you love me, and I’m sick. How about just today?”

He actually smiled at that, reaching out to cup my cheek as he explained, “No, Em, not even just this once. I am going to spank you, and we’ll be using the paddle as well. When we get home. Just like I promised. Because you’re my baby, and I love you.”

I pulled away from him, covering up my face and folding in on myself. I knew that I probably deserved a spanking, but I didn’t want one. And I didn’t want to try out the paddle for the first time either.

“Em,” he said helplessly. “Baby.”

I gulped, trying to explain, “I don’t want Ben to know I was so bad even after you said stop a lot, Daddy. He’s had a hard night, and he told me to be good.”

I wasn’t looking at him, but I could feel Daddy staring at me for a minute before he offered, “You are getting the punishment I promised you, baby, but if you want me to take you home and take care of it before I go and get Ben, I can do that.”

Sniffling, I shrugged, and Daddy sighed, warning, “You need to make a decision, baby. We need to go and get Ben.”

“Spanking first,” I muttered, unhappy. I’d kind of thought Daddy would let it go, but clearly, I was wrong.

Daddy made a quick call to Mr. Mac, letting him know we’d be about 10 minutes later than promised, and then we started the trip home. Neither of us felt much like talking, and so the next thing Matt said was once he pulled into the driveway.

“Go get the paddle and then wait in your bedroom corner for me,” he instructed.

Lip trembling, I got out of the car and did as I was told. Daddy had stuck the paddle in his nightstand drawer, and we hadn’t had any reason to use it yet. Grabbing it, I put it on the bed, where I figured he’d need it, then I went to the corner.

Daddy wasn’t far behind me, and he only made me wait a couple of minutes, while he put away the stuff in my bag and rummaged through the drawers.

“Here, please, Emily Anne,” he requested, after settling on the bed.

I slowly made my way toward him, realizing how exhausted he looked. Matt hadn’t caught it too, but he’d spent close to three weeks taking care of us, first Ben, then me, and it had taken a toll.

Not waiting for further instructions, I grabbed the waistband of my pants and began pulling them down. I felt pretty bad, now that I saw how tired and worn out he looked. Laying myself across his lap, I waited.

“Sorry,” I apologized, before he started. 

His hand was resting, heavy, on my butt. If I didn’t know how much this was going to hurt, it probably would have been vaguely reassuring. Rather than lifting it, he began gently rubbing, asking, “About?”

“Being mean and bratty,” I said, voice low. “I’m going to try harder to be good now, Daddy. I didn’t feel good, and I was mad at you, but we don’t talk to each other that way.”

Matt’s POV

For however bratty Em could be, and she could outbrat just about anyone I’d ever met, she was plenty hard on herself once she stopped to think. It made punishing her a lot harder.

I needed to go get Ben though, and I knew that she needed this spanking, so I began, making sure that I made every swat sting as much as I could.

“You’re right,” I lectured. “We don’t talk to each other that way. I appreciate the apology, but your behavior earlier was unacceptable.”

She was already squirming unhappily, uncomfortable from being ill, and it didn’t take much to get her to start crying. That accomplished, I picked up the paddle and brought it down without warning.

“You behave yourself,” I told her, smacking once. I followed up, using the paddle to punctuate each point. “You don’t act rude and mean just because you’re angry. I’m trying to help you, Emily Anne, and I don’t appreciate it.”

“Yes, Daddy,” she sobbed, wiggling.

Her bottom was pink, not nearly as far as I’d typically go for something this bad, but she was clearly feeling it. Righting her, I helped her kick off her pants and pull off her shirt, grabbing the nearby nightgown and tugging it over her head.

“I love you,” I said, using the same stern voice I’d lectured in. “And you love me. And I expect more out of you, baby, because I know you’re capable of it. So behave for Daddy, and don’t make me punish you again. Okay?”

She was still sniffling, wiping away tears, but she shook her head, “You’ll have to spank me again.”

“When?” I grinned, surprised at that.

Shrugging, she let me help her into bed, explaining, “I dunno. I’ll try to put it off though. ‘k?”

“Sounds good enough,” I replied, leaning in for a quick kiss. “I’m going to go and get Ben. Are you okay here by yourself?”

“Just for a minute,” she sleepily said, already curling on her side. “You’ll be back quick.”

“Yes, I will,” I agreed, kissing her and tucking the sheets. “Be good. I’ll be back in a little bit.”

Before I could step away from the bed, Em grabbed my hand, saying, “Don’t tell him I got paddled? Please?”

As much as Emily’s behavior had influenced Ben’s, his had influenced her as well, and I shouldn’t have been surprised. She was still my Em, but she tried harder now. 

“I won’t, sunshine,” I promised, kissing her again and tucking the paddle away. Ben didn’t need to know. He’d be happy enough for her to be home, and we would just forget about the punishment.

Ben’s POV

I woke up to voices. It was confusing. This wasn’t my bed, but I could hear my daddy talking. But that wasn’t Em, so I wasn’t at home? 

“So he was okay?” Daddy whispered, from the doorway.

“He was an angel,” the other voice said. It was a daddy. I could hear that much.

Whining, I made grabby hands in the general direction of the door, “Daddy?”

“Hey, Ben,” Daddy said quietly, coming over and bringing the side of the crib down. “Shhh, honey. Frankie’s sleeping. Can you tell Mr. Mac thank you for watching you?”

“Fank you,” I mumbled, snuggling in against Daddy when he picked me up. Thumb in mouth, I had no intention of waking up enough to walk. 

“No problem kiddo,” Mr. Mac told me, touching my hair. “You come back and play with Frankie soon, okay? We’ll set up a playdate with your daddy.”

“‘k,” I muttered, letting myself drift back off to half-sleep, listening to the two of them.

“As soon as Em’s feeling better,” Mr. Mac explained. “I thought that a playdate might work a little better if he had her nearby. And you, of course.”

“Yeah, I’ll call,” Daddy promised. He shifted me around, taking something, and then Mr. Mac walked us out. 

“Thanks,” Daddy said. “I really appreciate it.”

“Don’t mention it. The ER is bad enough. You didn’t need to worry about both of them,” Mr. Mac murmured, touching me again.

I snuggled closer to Daddy. Mr. Mac was nice, but my daddy was here, and I wanted just him now. And maybe a little bit Emily.

“Night, Ben,” Mr. Mac told me, and I felt Daddy carrying me outside. 

It was colder now that the sun was down, and I shivered a little bit, smiling around my thumb when I felt Daddy hug me even closer.

“Did you have a good time?” he whispered, starting the walk back to our house.

“Uh huh,” I replied. “Frankie’s papa read us Paddington. An’ we looked at puppy pictures. Bugs is a nice dog, Daddy. I liked her lots.”

“That’s good.”

Realizing I’d forgotten to ask, I mumbled, “Is Em okay now? Did they do more needles?”

“She’s fine, sweetpea. Just the two needles, and she was upset, but it’s all done.”

Nodding, I closed my eyes again, tired, and Daddy kept talking, “When we get home, then it’s time for sleeping. I’m going to get you set up in the nursery again tonight, okay, Ben?”

“Just ‘til Em feels better,” I repeated. We’d had this talk.

“Yup,” Daddy agreed, kissing me. “Just until Em’s feeling okay, and then we’ll all be back in the big bed. Deal?”

“‘k, Daddy,” I replied.

Daddy opened our front door, locking it behind us and carrying me up the stairs. I couldn’t help but beg, “I just see Em, Daddy. I will be very quiet.”

“Just need to see her and make sure she’s okay?” Daddy murmured, opening the door to the master bedroom. 

I lifted my head up enough to peek at Em, then nodded. “She’s okay.”

“Yeah, she’s sleeping,” Daddy whispered, closing the door and walking me to the nursery. I expected to be tucked in and left to fall back asleep, but Daddy walked over to the rocking chair, settling us both in.

“Daddy? Em needs you?”

He smiled down at me, kissing my forehead, “Em is fine. She’s had me all evening, while you were being my extra special brave boy. She’ll be okay with us cuddling a little bit.”

I felt like I should object because Emily didn’t feel well, and I wasn’t that brave. But it felt so nice to cuddle with my daddy, so I decided I could tell him more about being upset later. For now, we could rock.

Em’s POV

I woke up to a cold and alone bed, and I didn’t know where Daddy was. It was still dark out, and when I groped for the clock, I realized that I’d only been sleeping for about an hour. I wanted to just go back to sleep, but that stupid IV had made me have to pee again.

After stumbling out of bed and to the bathroom, I went into the nursery, wanting to check and see if Daddy had fallen asleep in the rocking chair again. He did that a couple of nights ago, sitting with Ben until Ben dropped off, and then being too tired to get up himself.

That was exactly where I found him, Ben curled up in his arms, and I contemplated getting a blanket and wrapping them up before I remembered how this ended last time. 

Ben got a little bit dropped, and then Daddy felt really badly about it. It wasn’t that big of a deal, and Ben barely even cried, but Matt had cried later on.

So, I walked over to them, gently shaking my husband’s shoulder.

“Daddy,” I whispered quietly. “Wake up. You’re fallin’ asleep inna nurs’ry ‘gain. You’re goin’ to drop my Ben on his head.”

Matt was up quickly, looking down at Ben before he made eye contact. With an apologetic smile, he told me, “Sorry, baby. Daddy must’ve been more tired than he realized.”

I nodded, “I know. You’re sleepy. Come to bed.”

He stood up, moving toward the crib, and I put myself between him and the furniture, shaking my head, “Ben too.”

“I don’t want him getting sick.”

“Please?” I begged. “He don’t like sleepin’ by himself. And he got me sick, so he prob’ly won’t catch it ‘gain. Please? You can sleep in the middle, so I don’t even barely breathe on him.”

Matt looked at me like he didn’t think that was the best argument, but I tugged his arm, “Come on, Daddy. My feet are gettin’ cold, and my Ben needs good sleep inna bed. You don’t sleep good in not a bed.”

“He sleeps fine in the crib, Em,” Daddy argued.

“Uh huh, but he sleeps better with his daddy and his Emily. So let’s go sleep inna big bed. Pretty please?”

Sighing, Daddy nodded, following me back to the master bedroom and settling Ben on his customary side. I let him get in before I joined them both, cuddling up against him.

“Night, Daddy,” I mumbled, feeling very tired now.

“Night, Em,” Daddy told me. “Shhh. You’re going to wake up Ben.”

“Night, Daddy,” Ben’s voice piped in, a bit garbled around his thumb. “You already waked me up, but ‘m goin’ back to sleep right ‘way.”

I giggled at that, and Daddy reached down to swat me gently, “Good night, Emily,” he said firmly. “Any more talking, and I’m going to go and sleep in the nursery by myself.”

Me and Ben both started cracking up at that. There was no way that Daddy would fit in the crib, and he knew it. Matt let us laugh and poke at each other for a few minutes, before he hugged us both, saying, “Settle down, you two.”

I peeked over Daddy at Ben, grinning at him, and he smiled around his thumb before closing his eyes and going back to sleep. Comfortable against Matt, I thought about how much better this was than the hospital, as I fell asleep.


End file.
